Linfengchun

Kapitel 36

The car performed well, and there wasn't much of a bumpy ride even on the less-than-ideal road conditions. Yin Yeyao looked at the scenery rushing past in the glass window and rearview mirror—houses, signs, green trees, passersby, swirling dust, and laughing pedestrians—but he couldn't recall Qiu Shanglin's face at all.

That's good.

As the car finally turned onto the highway and headed south towards the sunset, he counted in his mind: one, two, three…

Layer upon layer, jostling and pushing. This one has two ears sticking out, like a rabbit; that one is a dog with a limp leg…

The sunset ended on the other side of the mountain. The sunset glow next to the mountain peak turned half of the mountain red. The green trees were hidden in the red glow, and some of them were faintly black and purple. The colors were strange, and the mountain peak was strange.

He left Zifang Town on May 25th.

More than three months have passed, and Qiu Shanglin's face has finally disappeared completely, the memories of the past two years have become a dream. Xu Mi told him that he had been the heir of the Yin family since childhood, and had never fled to other places to avoid trouble. There was no Zifang Town, and no simple Yin Yeyao from Zifang Town.

No, he thought to himself.

Even if you lose everything else, you still have Mocha Cat.

Mocha Cat Boutique Stationery Store is located in the heart of the city. As cars travel through the bustling city and pedestrians slow down, its face is always turned towards the window, its adorable cat face blowing bubbles, and its huge logo illuminates the entire city.

For more than three months, the old master of the Yin family took him under his wing and personally trained him.

As usual, I brought him along when I visited friends in Hangzhou this time.

"When playing chess, you need to have a broad vision that looks three steps ahead. The battle is local and temporary, but the strategy is comprehensive and long-term. Ye Yao, come and look at Grandpa's move."

The old master of the Yin family beckoned him into the pavilion.

He approached calmly, head bowed, simply observing without speaking.

The old man across from me, leisurely sipping his tea, grinned and said, "Fifty years! I haven't won a single game of chess against you."

Grandpa Yin wasn't smug; he simply stated the facts: "Because you always live in the present."

The old man shrugged, unconcerned: "Live for the moment. How many more years can we live? If we all lived as hard a life as you, I'd probably have worked myself to death hundreds of times over!"

The old master of the Yin family smiled slightly and did not refute.

"What do you think of Ye Yao?" he asked his old friend calmly.

The other person glanced at it, then looked down to admire the brown color.

"He's better than your son. He's just a bit unpredictable."

Grandpa Yin was satisfied with his old friend's answer.

How about giving me your granddaughter as my granddaughter-in-law?

The other person was taken aback, choked on a mouthful of tea, and coughed repeatedly.

Once she calmed down, she glared at him and yelled, "You old geezer, my grandson and your grandson aren't on the same wavelength, so don't even think about hitting on her!"

“He has an unstable temperament, but your granddaughter seems very calm and composed, unlike you at all.”

When someone praised his beloved granddaughter, he was naturally happy: "Of course, don't let her young age fool you, she's always been poised and graceful, and acts with composure..."

Suddenly on alert: "Nothing I say will change anything, I disagree!"

Grandpa Yin smiled slightly and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings; let's talk about it when they grow up."

Yin Yeyao stood beside him, head down, eyes lowered, ignoring their discussion of her marriage.

Grandpa Yin gave him a satisfied look and said, "Go."

I walked back outside the pavilion and stood still.

Hua Zi approached from afar and whispered, "Madam."

Unseen by anyone, a flicker of weariness and gloom crossed Yin Yeyao's eyes as she gazed at the ground, before returning to calm. She nodded slightly and walked away with Hua Zi.

Grandpa Yin turned his gaze from the chessboard to the small figure walking away, and suddenly sighed, "He made a wrong move."

The old man opposite me shook his head and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings!"

He coughed and looked up at the sunset that Yin Yeyao had been watching.

That young girl seems quite promising, but she comes from a poor background and has too many ideas.

Xu Mi overreacted, he thought. Children's childhood play doesn't count.

Jealous

"Okay, let's turn to page eight of the textbook. Please read after me—let's learn to count!" The young math teacher of Class One spoke in a loud and clear voice.

Twenty-six eight-year-old children drawled, "Learn it, count it..."

"How many birds do we see in the tree?" she asked.

Silence fell over the classroom.

The female teacher didn't take it seriously. In this era of education, if the teacher didn't call on students, very few students would raise their hands voluntarily. The teachers were even smug, thinking they had cultivated excellent self-control in their students, unaware that they were suppressing the children's vitality from the very beginning.

Her gaze swept around the classroom, and she called out, "Pan Ling, you speak."

With her hands behind her back, back straight, and eyes fixed straight ahead, the model student Pan Ling suddenly stood up, her childlike voice ringing out:

"There are five little birds in the tree!"

The female teacher said with satisfaction, "Very good, sit down."

Pan Ling was somewhat smug. She couldn't express it explicitly in class, but her eyes revealed her pride. She looked around with satisfaction within her field of vision, then turned her head slightly to glance at Qiu Xialin behind her.

Shang Lin lowered her head, looking at a thread-bound handwritten book she had received a few days ago. Judging from the seal, it was written in the late years of Puyi's reign, and it subtly recorded some trivial matters that happened in the royal family during Puyi's final years. Judging from the tone, she suspected that the owner of the book was a member of the royal family.

Of course, the possibility that some descendants may have falsified the documents cannot be ruled out.

Without even looking up, she knew that her brother must be grinning and making faces at Pan Ling with his friends, trying to tease her.

She didn't want to act like a doting mother in class, so she lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "Sit properly."

It was indeed much quieter around me.

Xia Lin was a restless person. He felt itchy when he thought of Pan Ling's smug look earlier and wanted to tease her.

Stopped by his sister's shout, he calmed down for a few minutes, but then became restless again. Looking at Pan Ling's standard sitting posture in front of him, with her two little braids hanging down behind her head, he couldn't resist the temptation and reached out to grab her—but halfway there, he quickly pulled his hand back.

Oh no, oh no, your sister is right here with you!

His eyes darted around, a sly smile crept across his lips, and his leg, which had been restless under the table, suddenly darted forward—

"Ah!" A short, sharp scream startled the entire class and teacher. Shang Lin was no exception; the scream was right next to her, making her one of the direct victims. Looking up, she saw Pan Ling in the seat in front of her suddenly stand up, angrily turning back to glare at Qiu Xia Lin, her eyes brimming with tears, raising her hand in grievance.

"Report! Teacher Qiu Xialin kicked me!"

The female teacher was also annoyed; she was in the middle of a lively lesson when she was suddenly interrupted, so naturally she wasn't in a good mood. With a stern face, she asked:

"Qiu Xia Lin, why did you kick Pan Ling?"

Xia Lin stood up sluggishly, making a jarring sound as he moved the stool.

"Teacher, I didn't!"

His voice was languid as he exchanged knowing glances with his cronies, their eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a successful prank.

Pan Ling's tears streamed down her face: "You did! You dirtied my new clothes!"

The female teacher walked down from the podium with a stern face. Pan Ling was sitting in the first row. She walked up to her in a few steps, looked down and saw that there was indeed a footprint on the back of Pan Ling's shirt.

Angry: "Qiu Xia Lin, why are you being naughty? Why did you kick Pan Ling?"

Xia Lin still looked completely innocent and clueless: "Did I kick her? Oh, I'm sorry, it was an accident, teacher, I didn't mean to kick her!"

"Was it not intentional? Was it just random?" The female teacher's face turned red with anger.

It wasn't just Qiu Xialin; his unruly friends were already making a fuss, chattering and chuckling.

His angry glare had no effect.